


The Benefit of Bilingual

by Steph_R94



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27662459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steph_R94/pseuds/Steph_R94
Summary: Marinette begins to confess to Luka in Mandarin each time she leaves his company.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 16
Kudos: 199





	The Benefit of Bilingual

**Author's Note:**

> I used a combination of Fluency websites and Google Translate.

The first time Marinette whispered something in his ear in Mandarin, he was understandably confused. Marinette had broken away from their goodbye hug with a quiet _“Wǒ xǐhuān nǐ.” (I like you)_ He had still been reeling from the way her fingertips seemed to drift down his arms as she let go, as if she didn’t _want_ to let go. Luka didn’t understand what she said, but her heart song sang a soft, fond melody that didn’t fail to make him smile back through his confusion. He knew that she had been learning Mandarin from her mother. So, he assumed it was a goodbye.

X

The second time, they had been inside of her bakery. He had been getting ready to deliver some of their pastries to the hotel. She had brought them to him, wrapped and sealed away so that none of the contents would spill while he traveled. Before he could leave, she stopped him with a kiss to his cheek and once again whispered Mandarin: _“Wǒ ànliàn nǐ” (I have a crush on you)._ Sabine giggled in the corner, but Marinette only blushed slightly and stepped away. Luka assumed that she was embarrassed at being caught kissing him on the cheek in front of her mother and smiled.

“I’ll see you later, Marinette,” he said before he stepped out of the bakery. He could hear Sabine gently teasing her daughter as he loaded his bike with the delivery. It was only when he was driving away that he recalled there was a word different this time.

X

The third time it happened; they were sitting on the docks of the Liberty. She had wanted a break from the noise of her bakery; and she said she could always concentrate better there. Luka was happy to be that calm harbor for her. He was quietly strumming his guitar while she worked on some design. After a few minutes, he heard her sketchbook close.

“Hey, Luka?”

“Yes, Marinette?” He asked, stopping his strumming so that the girl could have his undivided attention. She smiled. Her cheeks tinted with a small blush, but excitement glittered in her blue eyes.

_“Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ zài yīqǐ” (I wanna be with you)._ Luka blinked at the words. Her smiled widened at his obvious confusion and she giggled. Before he could ask what the words meant, his bandmates piled onto the boat. The chaos of conversation and set up distracted him from his question, but not her words.

Just what was she saying to him?

X

The fourth time occurred when he could barely hear it even though they were the only two in the room he shared with Juleka. They were sitting at the edge of his bed, side by side. He was playing her song, aware of her eyes on him, when the quiet whisper of “ _Wǒ xiǎng wěn nǐ” (I want to kiss you)_ reached his ears. He looked away from his instrument and into her eyes. There was longing written on her face that made his heart speed up a little. He had been aware of the melody of her song shifting to a more pining note but he hadn’t thought…she’d been thinking of him. Her face immediately turned cherry red. She broke eye contact with him in favor of her shoe. He chuckled.

“You know, you keep saying things I don’t understand,” Luka teased. He leaned just a little closer to her, mindful her space but enough to be playful. “I’m always left with the feeling that I’m missing something important.”

“Um…uh…” Marinette stuttered.

“Won’t you translate for me?” Luka asked as he leaned over his guitar. He watched her reactions with interest. Her cheeks were turning rapidly redder. “Just one?”

“Okay.” Marinette whispered. “Yeah, I’ll translate the first one for you.” While he felt that the phrase she whispered moments ago was likely more interesting based off of her expression whenever she said it and the way she avoided his eyes, Luka could be happy with the first one. It had rolled in his head for weeks and all attempts at translating it hadn’t worked because he couldn’t speak the vowels as well as Marinette had.

_“Wǒ xǐhu-”_

“LUKA!” The shout of his name jarred both of them. Marinette let out a quiet squeak as she jumped at the Captain’s voice vibrating through the hull. Luka glared over at the door for a moment.

“What’s up, Mom?” Luka asked as he stood up; his voice just below an answering shout.

“I BURNED DINNER AGAIN!” Luka sighed while Marinette giggled.

“I’ll hold you to that translation,” Luka reminded Marinette with a point of his finger. Marinette smiled.

“But right now, you need to go get dinner.”

Relief nearly had her sinking into his bed as he turned and walked up the stairs with the air of man long suffering his mother’s shenanigans. She ignored the sound of Tikki’s giggling from her purse.

X

The fifth time it happens, Marinette is bolder. They are with their friends. Band practice ended with a celebration because they finally had enough songs to make a set list for the upcoming musical festival. Luka was talking with Adrien and Kagami when Marinette slid up beside him. There was a pause in conversation as the others greeted her.

“Hi, Marinette! How is Mandarin training going with your mom?” Adrien asked.

“I’d say it’s going pretty well,” Marinette mentioned. “I’m getting better, but I doubt I’ll ever be fluent.”

“Learning a language takes time,” Kagami reassured. “I’m still a little rusty on the peculiars of Japanese language and I’ve been learning it since I was four. It doesn’t help that the dialect can change with the region.”

While the girls fell deeper into their languages conversation, Adrien asked Luka about a certain song in the set. “It’s different from the others. I’ve never heard it before.”

“That’s because I wrote it,” Luka murmured. The tips of his ears turned red slightly at the suddenly awestruck look on the blonde’s face.

“Really? I didn’t know you wrote songs too!”

“Composing is harder than just…finding that riff that matches the person,” Luka conceded. “But I’ve been working on this one for a while and it just…all came together.” He didn’t hide his look in Marinette’s direction. She was standing at his side; her hands flying as she complained about the difficulty of some of the words she was learning.

“I see,” Adrien said. His tone made Luka look away from his muse to see Adrien had adopted a knowing look. “She has that effect on people.” He whispered in a conspiring tone. Luka felt his stomach drop, but hid it well. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing that we all already got tickets for the festival, right?”

“Yeah.” Luka tried to remind himself that Adrien was clearly with Kagami now.

Luka spent the entire night waiting for Marinette to whisper more Mandarin to him, but he didn’t know if she would now that Adrien was here. The moment finally came when Adrien was distracted with Kagami and the two were lost in conversation. Her hand set lightly on his shoulder, she rose up on her tiptoes. He leaned down a little so that he could better hear what she wished to say. _“Bùyòng dānxīn. Wǒ zhǐ shǔyú nǐ” (Don’t worry. I only belong to you)._

Adrien surprised them both by choking on air. His head whipped around to a rapidly reddening Marinette. “Shit.” She whispered. “I forgot…” Adrien’s lips twitched into a Cheshire grin.

“I know Mandarin too?” Adrien finished; his green eyes danced with mirth. Marinette shrank back; her blush somehow worsening. Luka shifted his arm just slightly to allow her hiding space. Adrien’s eyes found Luka’s. “Would you like to know what she just said?” 

“Adrien!” Marinette protested; her tone took on a small whine. 

“While I would like to know, I would rather she tell me,” Luka declined.

“Thank you,” Marinette murmured from behind him.

“Okay, okay.” Adrien relented.

Later, while Luka was distracted by Juleka and Kagami was on a phone call with her mother, Adrien pulled Marinette aside with a gentle hand. “It’s not fair of you to confess to him in another language, Marinette.”

“I know!” Marinette whined. “It’s just…I get so tongue tied whenever I try to confess to him in French that I end up saying something completely different. I thought…at least this way I could build my courage up!”

“The way you said that makes it sound like you’ve confessed in Mandarin a number of times.” Marinette’s expression turned from entreating to bashful. Adrien’s mouth dropped open. “Marinette! You must be driving him insane!” Marinette giggled. Adrien shook his head. His affronted expression changed into one of amusement. “Alright. I get it, but you can’t keep hiding behind Mandarin.” His eyes drifted away from her to just over her shoulder. She turned around to see Luka approaching him. A ready smile pulled his lips up as their eyes met. “Talk to him _in French_ ,” Adrien suggested, “I’ll keep the others upstairs.” He gave her shoulders a gentle push with both hands. She stumbled forward into Luka’s chest and glared back at him over her shoulder, but Adrien was already walking away with the intention to capturing the attention to crowd.

“What was that about?” Luka asked.

“Do…do you wanna go downstairs?” Marinette asked. “He was scolding me for hiding behind Mandarin…and…and, at first, it was just a confidence builder, you know? But then your expressions as you tried to figure out what I said were so cute that I just…and I’m rambling aren’t I? You haven’t even answered my first question…”

“We can go downstairs,” Luka told her with a gentle smile. “But I don’t want you to feel as though you have to tell me anything.” He added as he took her hand in his gently.

"No," she said with a shake of her head, "I told you that I would translate for you a week ago. I think it's time I honored that..."

"If you're sure..."

"I am." She began to pull him toward the door that lead below deck. Luka followed her easily; after all, he had long decided he would follow her anywhere if she asked him too. 

She followed him into the room he shared with Juleka. While he sat down on the bed, she stayed standing. “Okay,” she breathed out. Luka waited while she fought with her nerves. Her hands didn’t seem to know where to rest on her body; so, she just anchored them down at her sides with a tight grip on the side of her thighs. “I’ll start at the beginning.” She approached where he sat, closer to stomping than walking, and stood in front of him. _“Wǒ xǐhuān nǐ_ means I like you,” she breathed the words out quickly. Luka blinked. Marinette pushed forward before he could ask the context behind that statement, “ _Wǒ ànliàn nǐ,”_ her cheeks reddened, “means I have a crush on you.” Luka flattened his feet on the floor, certain that the floating feeling that had suddenly overcome him would take him away without an anchor. Marinette stepped closer; her hands fidgeted in the air before resting on his shoulders. He tipped his head back as she stood behind his legs. His hands came up to rest on her waist. Their eyes locked together as her voice became softer, _“Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ zài yīqǐ_ means I wanna be with you.” He was quiet certain he couldn’t breathe. His eyes remained locked on hers. _“Bùyòng dānxīn. Wǒ zhǐ shǔyú nǐ_ means Don’t worry. I only belong to you.”

“The one from tonight…” He whispered. His heart was already racing with the confessions she had unloaded upon him. Over the course of four weeks, she had been spilling her feelings to him in Mandarin and he hadn’t known. Of course he hadn’t. That was the point. Marinette nodded. “You skipped one.” He remembered.

“I know.” She breathed as she leaned down until their lips were a breath apart. Her hand cupped his cheek. “ _Wǒ xiǎng wěn nǐ—_ I want to kiss you,” she translated. Luka couldn’t stop the quiet whine that escaped the back of his throat. His eyes darted down to her lips; they were slightly parted as if speaking the words had caused the same tingle in her lips that hearing those words had in his. “Can I?” She asked.

“Please,” he consented. His hands slid up her waist to the space between her shoulders as she pressed her lips to his. The kiss was somewhat chaste, but still so soft and gentle that it made his heart sing. She drew back and rested her forehead on his.

“Are you mad at me?” She asked softly after they both took a moment to process the confessions she had been speaking to him and the kiss. While she didn't truly believe that Luka was angry, she still felt the need to ask. She would be overwhelmed in his shoes. Luka shook his head.

“You said they were confidence builders,” he reminded her. “If telling me in Mandarin made you feel more prepared to tell me in French, then I would happily hear it again and again.” Marinette smiled.

“Good, because I had one more I wanted to use.” She announced cheekily. Luka’s hands flexed against her hips as he suppressed a groan. He didn’t know if he could survive hearing more confessions tonight; his heart felt like it was going to implode. 

“What was it?” Luka asked with a chuckle.

“ _Hé wǒ yuēhuì?_ Go on a date with me? I promise it’ll be just us this time. That last part wasn’t part of the translation. I just know we don’t--” This time, it was Luka’s lips meeting hers. With a gentle press of his hand against the back of her head, he sealed their lips together in a much less chaste kiss that he allowed to linger on her lips before pulling away.

“I would love to go on a date with you,” Luka agreed.

“G-great.” Marinette stuttered. 


End file.
